Evolve

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER pairing delivers a compelling, high-refresh-rate experience in Evolve, a 2015 FPS that remains demanding at its highest settings. Benchmark results across twelve resolution and settings combinations show a system capable of exceeding 300 FPS at 1080p on Low, while still maintaining playable frame rates at 4K Ultra. The data reveals a clear performance hierarchy, with settings choices impacting frame rates more dramatically at lower resolutions, indicating a shift in system bottleneck behavior as graphical load increases.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting the smoothest competitive experience, the Low preset at 1080p delivers the highest measured average of 310.8 FPS, ensuring maximum responsiveness. This setting is ideal for esports-focused play where frame rate trumps visual fidelity. At 1440p, the Low preset still provides an excellent 209 FPS average, while the Medium preset offers a substantial visual upgrade at 160 FPS, which remains well above the 144Hz refresh rate threshold for most monitors.

For a balanced experience that prioritizes visual quality without sacrificing fluidity, the High preset at 1440p is the standout choice, achieving 125.2 FPS. This combination provides a significant improvement over Medium in graphical detail while maintaining frame rates that exceed standard 120Hz displays. At 4K, the High preset yields 69.5 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action; the Medium preset at 92.7 FPS offers a better compromise for 60Hz displays, though the gap between Medium and High at this resolution is notable.

The Ultra preset is the most demanding configuration, producing the lowest frame rates across all resolutions. At 1080p, it still manages 132.8 FPS, but at 4K it drops to 50.6 FPS, which may feel sluggish for a competitive shooter. Data suggests that the performance cost of Ultra over High is substantial, with a 30% reduction in average FPS at 1080p (from 190.2 to 132.8) and a similar proportional drop at 4K (from 69.5 to 50.6). The optimal experience per the measured rows is therefore the High preset for most users, offering a strong balance of fidelity and performance, with Medium as a viable alternative for higher resolutions or when prioritizing frame rate stability.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Evolve at 4K with high settings?

A: Yes, the data shows a 69.5 FPS average at 3840x2160 on High settings. This is playable, though it falls short of the 144 FPS typically desired for competitive FPS games.

Q: What is the best settings preset for maximizing frame rate?

A: The Low preset at 1080p produces the highest measured average FPS of 310.8, making it the best choice for achieving the absolute maximum frame rate.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 190.2 at 1080p to 125.2 at 1440p, a reduction of 34%. This indicates a significant GPU load increase at the higher resolution.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth the performance cost?

A: The data shows a substantial FPS penalty for Ultra. At 1440p, Ultra averages 89.6 FPS compared to 125.2 FPS on High, a 28% drop. The visual improvement may not justify this frame rate loss for all users.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's 16 GB VRAM help at 4K?

A: While the 16 GB of VRAM is ample for a 2015 title, the benchmark results show that the GPU's compute performance, not memory capacity, is the limiting factor at 4K, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling with settings changes.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p on Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 on Medium settings is 160 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the primary driver of frame rates in Evolve, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 672.3 GB/s bandwidth provide ample headroom for this game's assets, ensuring no memory-related stuttering at 4K Ultra. The boost clock of 2610 MHz and 8448 shading units deliver substantial compute throughput, as reflected in the Passmark G3D score of 31811, which places it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs.

The data shows that the GPU's performance scales predictably with settings. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra presets is dramatic, with average FPS ranging from 117 on Low to 50.6 on Ultra. This indicates that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is fully utilized across all settings, with no artificial bottleneck. The GPU's 44.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is a key factor in handling the game's rendering load, and its 66 RT cores, while not used by this 2015 title, contribute to the overall architecture's efficiency.

Interestingly, the GPU's benchmark scores, such as the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5569, suggest a strong baseline for modern titles. In Evolve, however, the GPU's performance is more than sufficient, allowing the CPU to become the limiting factor at lower resolutions. The 285 W TDP and triple-slot cooler indicate a high-power design that sustains performance under load, though the data does not include thermal throttling measurements.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RTX 4070 Ti SUPER combination ranks 179th out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the top 11% of all configurations. This is a strong result for a high-end pairing, though it does not reach the very top of the chart, suggesting that other combos with more powerful GPUs achieve higher frame rates. The rank reflects the balanced nature of this pairing, where both components contribute significantly to overall performance.

The CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 37780, indicates it is a top-tier part. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-13900HK and Intel Core i5-13600KF, which have similar average scores (38020 and 38028, respectively), with the AMD part trailing by only 0.6% and 0.7%. This shows that the 9800X3D is competitive with Intel's best, and its 3D V-Cache technology provides a unique advantage in gaming workloads.

The GPU's 86th percentile ranking, with an average score of 48704, places it above the NVIDIA RTX A2000 (47915) and below the NVIDIA CMP 50HX (49071), with deltas of 1.6% and -0.7%, respectively. This mid-to-high tier position explains why the combo ranks 179th rather than higher, as the GPU is not the absolute fastest available. The data implies that upgrading to a more powerful GPU would yield higher frame rates, but the current pairing offers a well-rounded experience for most users.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound behavior at high settings. At 1080p High, the system averages 190.2 FPS, which drops to 125.2 FPS at 1440p (a 34% decrease) and 69.5 FPS at 4K (a further 44% decrease). This consistent decline indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, with the CPU's powerful 8-core, 16-thread configuration providing ample headroom.

At lower settings, the scaling is less severe, suggesting a shift toward CPU limitation. On Low settings, the frame rate drops from 310.8 FPS at 1080p to 209 FPS at 1440p (33% decrease) and then to 117 FPS at 4K (44% decrease). The fact that the 1080p Low result is so high (310.8 FPS) indicates that the CPU is capable of driving extremely high frame rates, but the GPU cannot maintain this pace at higher resolutions.

The data also shows that the gap between 1440p and 4K is proportionally similar to the gap between 1080p and 1440p, suggesting a linear scaling with pixel count. This is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. The limiting component at 1080p is arguably the CPU, as the GPU has more than enough power to render the frame, but at 4K, the GPU's raw throughput becomes the sole constraint, as evidenced by the dramatic settings-dependent variance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 310.8 FPS, followed by Medium at 241.5 FPS, High at 190.2 FPS, and Ultra at 132.8 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 57% reduction in performance, highlighting the significant cost of maximum graphical settings.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a clear step down. Low averages 209 FPS, Medium 160 FPS, High 125.2 FPS, and Ultra 89.6 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is the first configuration to drop below 90 FPS, indicating that this resolution and settings combination is the threshold for maintaining high refresh rates.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed. Low averages 117 FPS, Medium 92.7 FPS, High 69.5 FPS, and Ultra 50.6 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest in the entire dataset, showing a 84% drop from the best-case 1080p Low scenario. This breakdown confirms that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is a capable 4K GPU for this title, but only at Medium or High settings for a smooth experience.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D plays a crucial role in ensuring high frame rates, particularly at 1080p where the GPU is less stressed. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, the CPU provides substantial processing power. Its boost clock of 5.20 GHz and 96 MB of shared L3 cache are key specifications for gaming, with the large cache reducing memory latency and improving frame pacing.

Benchmark data shows the CPU's exceptional performance. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 34004 and single-core score of 4800 place it among the fastest processors available. The Geekbench multicore score of 18413 and single-core score of 3341 further confirm its strength. The Passmark multithread score of 40009 and single-thread score of 4430 indicate balanced performance across all workloads.

In Evolve, the CPU's power is most evident at 1080p Low, where the system achieves 310.8 FPS. This high frame rate suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU with data faster than it can render, making the CPU the limiting factor at this resolution. However, as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the CPU's role diminishes. The 9800X3D's 90th percentile ranking, with its nearest rivals being the Intel Core i9-13900HK and Intel Core i5-13600KF, shows it is a top-tier gaming CPU, even against newer Intel parts. The 120 W TDP is modest for such performance, indicating efficient power delivery.